Connecting to God Through Nature

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;

    let the sea resound, and all that is in it.

Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;

    let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

Psalm 96:11-12

Charlotte Rhodes Memorial Butterfly Park is one of the "must stop" places on our annual Acadia NP retreat.

The quiet and the butterflies remind me that God constantly renews our souls. 

Yes, it's a long nine-hour drive to Acadia via interstates and state highways to Southwest Harbor and the beginning of our spiritual renewal.

Christian tradition views the butterfly as a symbol of resurrection.

A butterfly represents an insect who "dies" as a caterpillar, is buried in the cocoon, and emerges in a new life. 

Butterfly Park allows you to meander through the flowers, watch the butterflies, sit on one of the park's benches and absorb an inlet's beauty.

From a bench, one may catch glimpses of butterflies flitting from one bloom to bloom.

As Cleland Boyd McAfee might describe the park in his hymn, this a place of quiet rest,

near to the heart of God.

The setting and the butterflies seem to transcend the moment and renew one's soul.

This is the blessing of Butterfly Park.

Although butterflies aren't mentioned in Psalm 23, quiet waters, and green grass are part of restoring one's soul.

Shortly, the "trees of the forest" will be providing a colorful reminder of a new cycle's beginning.

It seems to me that whether you are sitting in a window overlooking God's creation or sitting quietly in its midst, you are making a God-connection. 

Through nature you are connecting to God and opening yourself to God's renewing power.

A Seeking God

 “Which one of you, 

having a hundred sheep

 and losing one of them, 

does not leave the ninety-nine 

in the wilderness and go after 

the one that is lost until he finds it?"

(from Lk. 15:1-10)

In the days of my youth, I was a counselor in a boy's camp located on the beautiful shores of Lake Seymour, Vermont.

The campers bedding included flannel sheets and two woolen blankets due to the cool evening weather.

It was a hot summer night and the campers were sleeping. 

During bed-check, two campers seemed tucked under wool blankets. The other counselor and I pulled off the blankets to find no campers.

We began anxiously searching wondering what trouble they managed to get themselves into.

We found the them skinny dipping at the camp's overnight campsite totally unaware of the dangers of swimming in the dark. 

The lost were found.

Jesus, however, is telling this parable with a much deeper meaning.

Jesus is talking about the depth of God’s love. 

Searching for lost sheep was dangerous in the hilly Judean mountainside was a dangerous undertaking.

There was little hope of finding it dead or alive because of predators such as leopards, jackals, hyenas or foxes.

Yet against all odds, the shepherd finds it alive, shoulders it, and brings it home to the rest of the flock.

Jesus' story is a reminder to us that God’s love is so great God will search tirelessly in the rocks and crannies of life to bring us home. 

Acadia Images of Psalm 8

This week Elaine and I are in Acadia National Park. It's here that for years we come to renew our spirits from the every-day life we lead. I hope these images and words from Psalm 8 will give you some renewal also.

Psalm 8 

O Lord, our Sovereign,
   how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.

    Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
    to silence the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
   the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
   mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them a little lower than God,

   and crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
   you have put all things under their feet,
all sheep and oxen,
   and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
   whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Sovereign,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Commitment to Jesus

 “Whoever comes to me 

and does not hate father and mother,

 wife and children, brothers and sisters,

 yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.

(from Luke 14:24-33)

I wonder why Jesus is making such a harsh statement when his ministry was about love of God and neighbor?

Consider this:

Imagine yourself at a Billy Graham Crusade.

There is lots of singing, and a challenging message that concludes with an invitation to come forward and make a commitment to Jesus.

You respond to the invitation, go forward, and are met with one to the team who then explains the next steps you have to take.

It's a first century setting like this in which Jesus makes statements about the sacrifice of being a disciple.

He's using the word "hate" as a hyperbole to stress the importance of discipleship.

We sacrifice according to our priorities. 

Jesus says the Kingdom of God he proclaims and the kingdom life of which he is an example should be a priority even with its difficult choices.

When we pray: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” then we need to make the sacrifices and set the priorities to bring it about.

This will have consequences.

When I began talking with some church members about abortion, my point of view was not well received.

Yet, I believe that I must continue speaking out for my point of view because that's how one lives in God's kingdom.

I respect other's points of view because in God's kingdom love of God and neighbor take priority.

At some point I may experience a verbal crucifixion from someone with a different point of view, but I know that when I love and serve God as Jesus declares, crucifixion will lead to a new, transformed life of peace.